As mobile service providers transition their networks to packet formats, and away from time division multiplexing, they will have to preserve the timing relationships crucial for voice services.
Three primary methods have emerged as contenders for the de facto synchronization standard that will eventually allow network operators to retire their TDM networks: The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) Precise Time Protocol 1588v2 and Synchronous Ethernet (SyncE) standards and the U.S.-based Global Positioning System.